After another week of losing both games, the Oregon Ducks look to shake their bad play as they enter the Pac-12 tournament; but can they actually play better than they have the past couple of weeks?
Over the past five games, Oregon has gone 2-3 with losses to California, Colorado and Utah; finishing the season at 23-8. With their poor final two weeks, the Ducks have put themselves in a three-way tie for second in the Pac-12 conference with California and Arizona.
With the tournament less than a week away, can the Ducks really change their momentum to be in their favor or are they on a downward spiral with no chance of recovery?
Personally, I don’t think the Ducks are going to go far in the Pac-12 tournament- let alone win a single game in the NCAA Tournament.
I hate to be so bluntly harsh on the Ducks, but over the past two weeks, no team in the Top 25 has looked worse than Oregon. How am I supposed to believe that they are going to do anything but lose to teams that are more motivated and energized than they are?
In the season finale against the Utah Utes, Oregon looked exhausted, lackluster and downright awful as they attempted to win their first regular season conference title since 2002.
[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignleft" width="194" caption="E.J. Singler has been the only bright spot on the Ducks over the past couple of weeks. "]
[/caption]The only thing that was remotely positive about the game was the play of senior forward E.J. Singler. He led the team in points, 21, but followed the trend of the day only making 3 of his 6 free throw attempts.
Oregon shot a little more than 70% from the charity line this season, but Saturday afternoon the Ducks only shot 59%. It’s nearly impossible to win a game when players shoot that poorly from the free throw line.
The Ducks looked exhausted out there, barely being able to make it up and down the court. Senior forward Arsalan Kazemi was more of a hazard on the court than an essential player as most are accustomed to seeing.
Kazemi only grabbed four rebounds (a season low), while shooting 5 of 11 from the free throw line—bringing his two-game total to 9 of 20.
On top of Kazemi’s poor performance, freshman point guard Dominic Artis does not look to be fully healthy. During his last three games played—his first three back from “recovering” from an ankle injury that cost him nine games—he has averaged just over 4 points in 15 minutes per game.
Now his average isn’t anything to be worried about as he is trying to get back into game shape, but his shooting percentage is something that should make everyone worried.
After shooting 67% his first game back, Artis has posted 33% and 22% shooting performances—both coming in as huge losses.
During the first 18 games of the season—where the Ducks went 16-2—Artis was crucial for the Ducks in the fact that he was able to spread the floor and knock down his shots. It isn’t surprising though to note in the two games that they lost during the start of the season, Artis shot a combined 8 for 31. The success of the Ducks offense depends on the play of the point guard; if the point guard fails, so does the rest of the team.
In order for Oregon to turn around this catastrophic downward slope, they need improved play by Kazemi and Artis. If they don’t bounce back, look for the Ducks to be ousted early in Pac-12 Tournament play, receive a low NCAA Tournament seed and lose their opening round game.
Oregon started off the season so hot, it is a shame to see them limp out of the regular season and stagger into postseason play.
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